Love You Forever
by crocious
Summary: England and America bro-fluff-fic. Be sure to read like a children's book, because it's inspired by my favorite.
1. Chapter 1

**Don't know why I'm on an innocence kick right now. It's annoying, I need to get my mischief back so I can write Devil's Night! But, Yom Kippur definitely kicks the mischief out of you, so I've got this. When you read, be sure to imagine it reads like a children's book. It is, of course, inspired by "Love You Forever," which I do not own. **

**Enjoy!**

Once there was a country. He wasn't a big country, but he was very strong and very brave to make up for it. Every day he wished that he could see new places and meet new people and learn new things. Sometimes he did, and he was happy. Mostly he didn't, so he would sit in his big house and pretend that he wasn't lonely.

One day, someone told him about a strange land all the way across the sea, so he and his neighbor got in their big boats, put on their big hats and sailed all the way across the sea to the New World. And even though he and his neighbor hated each other very much, they were very excited to see new places and meet new people and learn new things across the sea.

When they got to the New World, they stretched out their backs and looked around. It was a beautiful place, filled with grass and trees and strange plants that turned out to be very tasty. They saw animals that they had never seen before and they met people who spoke a silly sounding language they had never heard. The small country smiled and he was happy.

The small country and his neighbor went for a walk, even though they hated each other very much. They walked through endless grass and big forests. They walked past lazy bears and friendly deer. They walked until the sun was very low in the sky and they came to a big river where they decided to rest for the night.

When it was very dark out, the small country was woken up by his neighbor. He rubbed his eyes and sat up. "What is it?" he said.

"I think there's something out there," the neighbor said, frightened.

The small country stood up and stretched. "I'm sure there is," he said, "but I don't think it wants to hurt you."

The neighbor trembled. "How do you know?"

The small country turned to the big, open plains and he shouted under the moonlight: "Is there anybody out there?"

There was a rustle in the grass and the neighbor threw his blanket over his head so the thing in the plains wouldn't see him. But the small country was very brave and he talked to the thing in the plains:

"Why don't you come out so we can talk to you? My neighbor and I have come from all the way across the sea to see new places and meet new people and learn new things. We promise we won't hurt you."

The small country watched as the grass rustled and out popped a little boy's face. His neighbor yelled out because he was very frightened, and the little boy suddenly ran away, scared. The small country called after him to come back, but he was long gone. There was nothing he and his neighbor could do but sleep.

In the morning, the small country and his neighbor woke up. The neighbor was very well rested, but the small country didn't get any sleep because he was thinking about the strange wild boy in the plains. As far as the small country knew, the little boy was the only person for miles and miles and miles. The small country felt sorry for the little boy in the plains because he knew what it was like to be alone.

The small country and his neighbor walked. They walked and they walked and they walked. The walked past funny furry animals and funny painted people. They walked part gurgling brooks and tall forests. They walked until their feet were very sore and they sat down to have lunch.

And then the small country heard the grass rustle and he smiled. His neighbor shook in fear, but the small country talked to the little boy in the grass:

"Are you hungry? My neighbor and I would be happy to make you some lunch if you come out and talk to us. We come from all the way across the sea to see new places and meet new people and learn new things. We promise we won't hurt you."

The grass rustled and out popped a little boy's head. The neighbor yelled out in fear, but the little boy was braver now and he stepped out of the grass.

The small country looked at the tiny boy and smiled. "Hello," he said. "Do you live here?"

The tiny boy shuffled his feet bashfully. "Yes," he said.

"Who do you live with?" the small country asked.

The tiny boy frowned sadly. "I live alone," he said. "I lost my brother a long time ago, and now I am all by myself."

"It's very dangerous to be so small and so alone," the small country said. "Aren't you scared?"

"I'm not scared," the little boy laughed. "I'm very brave. I'm just very lonely out here."

The small country felt his heart skip a beat. He had always been very lonely all by himself in the middle of the ocean and had always wished that he had a brother to play with and make him less lonely.

"Since you don't have anyone to look out for you," the small country said, "would you mind being my little brother? I am also very alone in my big house, and sometimes I wish that I had a little brother to play with so I wouldn't be so lonely."

The little boy smiled, but the small country's neighbor yelled out.

"No!" the neighbor said. "Don't be this small country's little brother! Be my little brother! I am very wealthy and I would be better at taking care of you than he would. When you come to visit my home across the sea, I will take you to look at the finest art. I will feed you the finest foods. I will play with you all day and make you happy."

As a gift, the neighbor unwrapped a special cheese that he was saving for dessert and held it out to the little boy. The little boy's belly grumbled and he took it and ate it all in one bite.

"Yummy!" the little boy said. "I've never had anything so tasty!"

The neighbor smirked at the small country and the small country was very sad. He would have loved to have such a brave and sweet little boy for a little brother, but his food was bland and tasteless and he had nothing yummy to give the hungry little boy from the plains.

The small country started to walk away, sad. But he felt something tug on his arm and he looked down.

The little boy from the plains looked up at the small country with eyes as big as saucers. "Where are you going?" the little boy asked. "I thought you said you were going to be my big brother and play with me so I won't be lonely."

The small country looked at him in surprise. "I thought you wanted my neighbor to be your big brother."

The little boy shook his head. "Your neighbor knows about a lot of things. He knows about art and he knows about cooking. He knows about big houses and shiny yellow necklaces. He knows about horses and books and clothes and music. But he doesn't know what it's like to be all alone and he doesn't know what it's like to have to be brave."

The small country smiled at the little boy and picked him up. "You are a very strange little boy, to pick me over my neighbor."

The little boy closed his eyes and fell asleep, safe for the very first time.

The small country walked. He walked and he walked and he walked. He walked past bushes filled with singing birds and villages filled with singing people. He walked past roaring rivers and whistling grass. He walked until his feet were very sore and he kept walking. And as he walked, he sang:

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My brother you'll be."


	2. Chapter 2

The little boy from the plains grew. He grew and he grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was a colony. He quickly grew out of all the clothes the small country brought him and he was always hungry.

And the colony was wild! The small country was very happy to sit by the fire and read a book, but whenever he visited his little brother across the sea he had to prepare himself. The colony loved fishing and hunting and running and bouncing off the walls!

The small country and his brother loved each other very much. But the small country couldn't stay all the time because he had to take care of his home all the way across the sea. The colony was always very sad when his big brother left because he was very lonely in his big, big house.

The small country had to leave, though. He had to go home and take care of his people. But he always came back to visit his little brother for a while, and they were both happy until he had to leave again.

Sometimes when he would come to visit the colony, the small country would be covered in bandages and it would hurt him to play. This made his little brother even sadder, so when the small country sat down the colony would kiss all of his booboos to make them feel better. The small country smiled at his little brother and pulled him into his lap, even though it hurt him very much, and he sang:

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My brother you'll be."

…

The colony grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until he was big and strong and the small country didn't even recognize him when he came to visit. He was very tall and loved to laugh and hunt and build things. The small country was very proud of how well his little brother was growing up.

But the small country couldn't always be with his brother, and the colony was very sad about that because he hated being alone in his big, big house. One day, when the small country was visiting his little brother, they had an argument.

The colony told the small country that he didn't like being alone so much and it wasn't fair that he had to be so lonely while the small country got to be close to his friends. The small country apologized, but he couldn't do much to help, the colony's house being so very far away across the sea. The colony cried and ran out of the house.

The small country couldn't catch his little brother because he was so fast! So he called after him until he disappeared into the tall grass.

The small country called his brother's name until it was very dark. He asked the people in town where his brother had gone, but no one knew. He looked behind every tree and every rock and he even asked the animals, even though he knew animals couldn't talk. Finally, the small country went back to his brother's house to wait for him to come home.

He was very surprised to find his little brother sitting on his bed, talking to a strange child. The small country the two boys looked at the small country and laughed.

"Look," the colony said to the small country. "I found my little brother! He wasn't lost after all, just far up where the snow covers the ground even in the summer!"

The small country coughed politely and offered the strange little boy some tea. Even though the new little boy was a stranger, he didn't want to be rude, and the little boy thanked him.

"Your neighbor has been taking care of me," the little boy told the small country. "He has built me a big house and taught me many things about cooking and singing and clothes. He is my big brother, just as you are my brother's brother."

Even though the small country hated his neighbor very much, he smiled. "Because I am your brother's brother," he said, "I am also your brother. Welcome to our family, Snowy Country."

The little boy smiled and told his brothers that it was his bedtime and he had to go home. He kissed each of his brothers on the cheek and left, looking very happy.

When the snowy country left, the colony ran to his big brother and hugged him. "I am very sorry," he cried. "I was selfish to want you to stay here all the time and I shouldn't have run away."

The small country hugged his little brother back. "I understand why you were sad. It hurts very much to be so lonely all the time. I wish I could stay here with you forever, but I can't. So we just have to make the most of the time we have together."

The colony nodded. "At least I won't be so lonely anymore now that I found my little brother."

"He is nice," the small country said. "Very calm and sweet. And much quieter than a certain wild colony that I know."

The colony looked at the small country and frowned. "Are you going to love my little brother more than me because he is quieter and gentler with his toys?"

The small country took his little brother into his lap. "It would be impossible for me to love anyone more than you."

The colony closed his eyes as the small country rocked him back and forth, back and forth. And as he rocked him, he sang:

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My brother you'll be."


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, this could certainly be better. I'm writing this in my broken down junker after all kinds of shit hit one enormous fan. At least it gives me a little motivation to finally finish, lol! Sorry it's taken so long, thanks so much for the patience!**

**I have two more chapters. Finishing the third as we speak. They're both American Revolution. **

**Guh, sorry. Totally out of it tonight.**

The colony grew. He grew and he grew and he grew. He grew until his voice became deep and he was even taller than his big brother! The small country felt annoyed that his little brother was already so big, but he loved the colony very much and still made sure that he was in bed by bedtime.

One day, the small country and the colony were eating dinner. The small country noticed that his little brother seemed very sad. He looked across the table at the big colony.

"What's wrong?" the small country asked. "Do you not like my cooking?"

The colony looked up and sighed. "I feel sad," he said. "I am getting so very, very big, but you don't seem to think so."

"Of course not," the small country said. "You are my little brother, and you always will be."

The colony set down his tea and looked at his brother. "I will always be your little brother, but I am growing up. I wish you would treat me like an adult."

"You have a very long way to go until you are an adult," the small country said. And with that, he sent the colony to bed.

The colony was upset. "That big jerk," he said to himself as he climbed into bed. "He didn't even listen to me! Ooh, I wish I could get back at him for ignoring me!"

So after he heard his big brother close his bedroom door, after he watched the light under his door go out as the small country blew out his candle, after he heard his brother start to snore softly, the colony slowly climbed out of bed.

He tiptoed across his bedroom to the door. He tiptoed down the hall to the stairs. He tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen.

Quietly, very quietly, the colony gathered all the tea bags from the kitchen. He gathered all the jars filled with tea leaves. For good measure, he took his brother's shiny copper kettle and he took everything outside.

There was a rocky harbor down in town not too far from the colony's house. Quietly, so he wouldn't wake anyone, the colony took all of the tea out to the very farthest dock. For a while, he stood in the chilly night air and thought about how very mad he was at his older brother. He looked out across the big, big sea, like he had when he was a child, and tried to see the land his brother had come from.

But, like when he was younger, the colony could see nothing but giant, giant ocean. He suddenly felt very lonely and very angry. Without another thought, he cast all of the tea- the bags, the leaves and even the shiny copper kettle- into the giant, giant ocean.

"Take that!" he whispered at the waves. "Take all of my brother's gross tea back to where he came from! I don't need it! I don't need _him!_ I'm an adult and I'm going to prove it to the world!"

The next morning, the small country woke up with the sun and smiled groggily. He shuffled his feet across the floor and down the stairs to the kitchen to make his breakfast tea. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of something bitter and looked for his tea to fill the kitchen with a more pleasant smell. When he couldn't find any tea bags, the small country reached into his jars of leaves. But he couldn't find any. He couldn't even find his shiny copper tea kettle.

The colony came in through the back door. "Good morning," he smiled at his older brother. "Would you like some coffee? I think I have enough for one more cup!"

"Coffee?" the small country said. "What's coffee? And where is my tea?"

"Coffee's this delicious new thing from my neighbors to the south. I'm not having any more tea."

"Is that what the smell is?" the small country asked. "It smells foul. You can't possibly think it's good."

The colony poured the last of the coffee into a cup and handed it to his brother. "Try it," he said.

The small country raised his eyebrow at his little brother and took a suspicious sip. He spit it out violently.

"What on earth is this?" the small country yelled. "It's rubbish! Where is my bloody tea?"

"This is my house," the colony said slowly. "From now on, we don't drink tea. We drink coffee."

"Where is my tea?"

The colony shrugged. "Gone."

"Gone?" the small country sputtered. "What do you mean, 'gone?' What have you done?"

"I threw it into the harbor," the colony said.

"You _what?_"

"Last night, I took all your tea and I threw it into the ocean. If you'd like, I can make you a cup of that."

The small country faced his brother angrily. "What on earth has gotten into you? Do you have any idea how much that tea costs?"

The colony shrugged and leaned against the counter. The small country fumed.

"That's it," the small country said. "You're-"

"Grounded?" the colony interrupted. "You can't ground me. You're going home in a few days and you won't be able to stop me from doing anything."

The small country opened his mouth to respond, but he couldn't think of anything. His little brother was right.

"You can't control me anymore," the colony said, walking up and taking his brother's coffee. "I have you figured out. More importantly, I have _me_ figured out. And I don't like your dumb rules. So I'm not going to follow them."

The small country will never be able to explain why he did what he did next. But he was so very, very angry at his little brother that he slapped him across the face. Hard.

The two stared at each other for a very long time, the colony holding his cheek and the small country staring in horror at what he had done. The colony finally spoke.

"That was not a good idea," he said. "I am old enough and strong enough to hit back."

The small country stopped feeling sorry. "You are my little brother," he said. "You will not hit me. And you will replace all the tea you threw into the harbor, and my shiny copper kettle too. You are grounded, and the snowy country will be sure to tell me if you don't follow the rules."

"No," the colony said defiantly. "You will go home. You will never come back to my house again unless I invite you."

The brothers glared at each other for a long time, refusing to look away.

The small country huffed finally. "You want to be an adult? A country? Fine. I'll show you what countries have to do when they grow up. I'll show you exactly what I've been protecting you from all this time. I will show you war."

"I'm not afraid of you," the colony said.

"I'm going home today. I will be back soon. And you had better be ready to apologize when I get back here."

The colony folded his arms across his chest and stuck out his tongue. "I'll never apologize," he said.


	4. Chapter 4

**I swear to God I'm going to get back to Devil's Night. Promise.**

**Second to last chapter. **

**Own nothing, blah, blah.**

After his brother's big boat became a tiny, tiny dot on the ocean, the colony panicked. He ran all the way to his little brother's house and pounded on the door until it opened.

"Oh, hi," the snowy country said to his brother. "Come in, I just made pancakes."

"I need help!" the colony yelled.

The snowy country winced at the noise. "What do you need help with, brother?"

"What does 'war' mean?"

The snowy country tilted his head. "War?"

"Yes, war!" the colony said. "I made Big Brother very angry and he said he was going to show me war!"

The snowy country shook his head slowly. "I don't know," he said. "But my big brother from across the sea is here. Let's ask him."

The brothers went in the house to find the snowy country's big brother. They found him sitting by the fire, drinking a glass of red wine. He smiled when he saw the country, remembering when he was a little boy in the plains.

"Hello," the country said. "Do you remember me? I am your big brother's neighbor."

The colony nodded. "I remember."

"My brother had something to ask," the snowy country said. "He wants to know what 'war' means."

The small country's neighbor hugged the snowy country to his chest and pressed his hand to his forehead. "War? Surely you cannot want to know what war is. War is an ugly thing. It is when two countries hate each other so very much that they try to kill one another. You are both too young for such a horrible thing."

The colony turned white. "Kill?"

"Yes," the small country's neighbor said. "Kill."

The colony and the snowy country looked at each other in horror.

"Papa!" the snowy country wailed. "You have to stop the small country! You cannot let him kill my brother!"

The small country's neighbor looked at the two in alarm. "What?"

"I made my brother very angry," the colony said, eyes filling with tears. "He went home, and he said when he comes back he is going to show me war."

The small country's neighbor's eyes widened. "How can he say such a thing? Whatever you did cannot possibly be so horrible as to make him want to kill you!"

"I threw his tea into the harbor," the colony said.

"Oh," the small country's neighbor said. "Yeah. That'll do it."

"What can I do?"

The small country's neighbor frowned. "Your brother hates me very much. I don't think I can convince him to leave you alone. But I can protect you. And I can promise that as long as I'm here, your brother will not hurt you."

The colony hugged the small country's neighbor very tightly. "Thank you," he said.

"You are my brother's brother," the small country's neighbor said. "And that makes you my brother."

The snowy county smiled and kissed the colony on the cheek and whispered in his brother's ear:

"Je t'aimerai toujours,

La nuit comme le jour,

Et tant que je vivrai,

Tu seras mon frère."


	5. Chapter 5

**Hoowhee! Can't believe how long this is! Thanks, y'all, for reading! It's been grand!**

**God Bless America!**

The colony waited for his brother. He waited and waited and waited. The small country's neighbor waited with him even though the snowy country hid in his house, afraid. Together, the small country's neighbor and the colony gathered their people and waited for the small country to come.

One day, a small dot appeared on the big, big sea and the colony pointed at it.

"That is my brother's flag," he said. "He is here."

The small country's neighbor sipped his coffee and looked out. "Are you afraid?" he asked.

"I am never afraid," the colony said.

The small country's neighbor smiled. "Don't be silly," he said. "Fear is something everybody feels, especially at war."

The colony looked at the ship as it got bigger and bigger on the ocean. "I am never afraid," he said.

…

The small country's neighbor and the colony went down to the harbor to meet the small country. When the colony saw his brother, his heart fell. He had hoped that the months away would make his brother less angry and help him see that the colony was right. But the small country strode to them furiously from the docks. His face was angry. His walk was angry. Even his coat was red and angry looking.

The small country's neighbor patted the colony on the back and tried to smile, but he looked afraid. So the colony stepped forward and put on his bravest face:

"Brother, I did not invite you here. Go home."

The small country spat on the ground. "You insolent child!" he yelled. "Unless you go to your room this instant and apologize for what you've done, I will have no choice but to punish you!"

The colony didn't move.

"Fine!" the small country shouted. "You want to be a country? Come on then. Show me how strong you are!"

The colony breathed in slowly. "Brother, I don't want to fight you. I do not hate you enough to want you to die. But you cannot keep me a child for the rest of my life. I am an adult now, and unless you can respect me I will have no choice but to fight you."

The small country calmed himself and sighed. "I don't hate you, little brother. Not even a little. But you cannot disrespect me so severely. I have to punish you, otherwise, when you _do_ grow up, you will be a rude and insolent person, like my neighbor."

"Hey!" the small country's neighbor said. "That's not fair!"

"Your neighbor respects me," the colony said. "He believes that I am old enough to make my own decisions. He is a good person, and I wouldn't mind growing up like him."

"You can't possibly mean that," the small country said.

"That day in the plains," the colony said. "I should have chosen to be with your neighbor instead."

A silence fell over the three men. The colony glared at his older brother. The small country's neighbor blushed, embarrassed. And the small country's shoulders fell and his eyes filled with tears.

"Is that how you really feel?" the small country whispered.

And even though he didn't really mean it, the colony nodded his head.

"Fine," the small country said. "Fine. Rest well. In the morning, we fight as countries."

The small country stormed off before his little brother could see him cry.

The colony watched his brother grow smaller and smaller. Not until the small country's back disappeared around the town corner did he let out the sob he'd kept in his chest since his brother disappeared in his big, big ship four months ago.

The colony held his face and cried. He cried and he cried and he cried. He cried until the small country's neighbor ushered him back into his house and sat him down by the fireplace. He cried until his eyes stung and it hurt to breathe. He cried until he fell asleep and the small country's neighbor gingerly carried him to his bed and tucked him in.

…

The colony did not have fancy guns like the small country or his neighbor. He did not have pretty coats or enough bullets or even enough food for his soldiers. But he did have the courage of a little boy who grew up in wild, untamed lands with strange and delicious plants and nobody in sight for miles and miles. He did have the stubbornness of a child who against every odd survived the deadliest winters just to see the spring creep over the snow and bathe the land in green and sun. He did have the strength of a man who knows he is right and is more than willing to wrestle a bear to the ground to prove it to the world.

The morning after the small country arrived, he and the colony met once more. They walked to the middle of a large valley, their armies staring at each other, waiting for the word to fight. The colony's army shouted at the men in red coats, insulting them and telling them to go home. The army in the red coats taunted them back, laughing at their rags and their hunting guns, while they wore clean, new uniforms and had shiny new guns.

As their men shouted, the colony and his brother stared at each other silently. The small country was suddenly struck by how very, very tall the colony had grown. He remembered how small he had been when he found the child in the plains. The colony saw a scar on the small country's hand and remembered how he had kissed it when he was a child to make his brother feel better.

The brothers stood, staring at each other, surrounded by shouting and taunting and threats. But they stood like statues in front of their men.

"It's not too late," the small country said finally. "Turn back now. End this before your men die."

The colony looked back at his army. They were hunters and writers and cooks. They were not soldiers. They laughed and shouted insults at the red coated army.

"If I tell them to," the small country said, "they will kill everyone in your army. They won't leave anyone alive. Neither of us wants that. Stand down and I will send them home. Stand down and no one will die. Stand down and things can go back to the way they were."

The colony bit his lip. He had never killed anybody and despite everything, he still loved his brother very, very much. He looked up at his older brother and opened his mouth to respond.

Just as the colony's lips parted, he heard a loud "BANG!"

And a scream.

Shouts of confusion from his army as one of his men fell to his knees and died.

The colony looked in horror at the dead man and glared at his brother. "You killed him!"

"I didn't kill him!" the small country said. "I swear I didn't!"

"Prepare yourself, brother," the colony growled. "This is not going to end well for you."

…

The colony was strong and his men were strong. His army wore rags for days at a time and wrapped their feet in cloth when they marched right through their boots. They didn't have enough bullets and they didn't have enough food. But they had the colony- a bright, funny, courageous young man- and that was enough.

The small country and the colony fought. At first, the small country looked like he would win very quickly. He had fancy coats and shiny guns, after all. But as the months rolled on, as the weeks turned from warm to wet to slushy to frozen, as the years dredged on, bringing rain and snow and unbearable heat, the colony grew stronger. He grew stronger and stronger and stronger. He grew stronger until the small country almost didn't recognize him from the fire that burned in his eyes.

Men fell around the colony on fields strewn with bodies and watered with blood. But the colony moved like a bull.

And he killed.

The small country watched the toddler he found one summer day in the plains kill for the very first time. He watched his little brother retch with horror. But then he saw him fight harder as his own men fell.

War is a terrible thing. It turns men that were once children into murderers. It covers smiles and adorable dimples in blood and mud. It drowns out the punchline of a joke in the boom of cannon.

For years they fought. Sometimes, but not always, the small country's neighbor would show up just as the colony thought he might lose and help him push the small country back. And sometimes, but not always, the small country would catch the colony's gaze. And he would remember teaching him how to fish, and how to aim his gun. And it hurt him to remember. It hurt him deep inside his chest in a place he didn't even know could feel that kind of hurt. And he would feel his resolve slip.

And his army would fall back.

…

It was raining that day. The dark clouds covered the sun completely and the armies stood, exhausted, glaring at each other in the mud.

The colony stared at his brother. He was surrounded by great men. Men who had heard the bullets whistle past their ears and felt no fear. Men who had killed greater men than themselves in the name of their colony. Men who wanted freedom.

The colony was surrounded by these great men, but the small country was alone. None of his men were strong enough or brave enough to stand against the colony and his great men.

The small country sank to his knees in the mud, waiting for his brother- the baby he had raised from the plains- to take the final blow against him.

But when the colony stepped forward, he cocked his head innocently and held his gun at his side.

"You used to be so big," the colony said sadly.

Even though he tried to choke them back, the small country let out his strangled sobs. "You idiot!" he cried against the roar of the rain. "I wanted to protect you from this!"

The colony smiled sadly. "I don't need you to protect me anymore," he said. "I am big enough and strong enough that I can hit back. I am a country now. We are equals. Go home."

The thunder clapped around them and the new country turned back to his men, exhausted, but ready to celebrate. And the small country felt his chest tighten.

"No," he whispered. "No! I won't let you!"

Without realizing his body, the small country raised himself to his feet and began to run. He ran at his little brother, furious, horrified, scared. He screamed and raised the pointy part of his gun.

But the new country heard him and turned around. He held his gun out like a shield and the pointy part of the small country's gun struck the butt.

The two men froze and stared at each other. The small country slowly looked down to where the blade of his bayonet lay embedded in the wood and time froze for a minute.

The new country, the man who was once a colony, hadn't used his gun to kill his brother. He hadn't pulled the trigger, pointing it at the small country's belly. He had used his weapon- as a shield.

The small country dropped his gun and staggered back. He covered his face and sobbed against the pouring rain. He sobbed. He sobbed and he sobbed and he sobbed.

He sobbed until he felt a hand on his back and heard the squelch of mud in front of him. He wiped his face and looked up into the face of his little brother.

The new country smiled softly. He smiled and he spoke:

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living,

My brother you'll be."


End file.
